Skanda Purana — Kashi Khanda, Shloka 56

Devanagari script

दातव्यो वो वरः कोत्र व्रियतां मे यथारुचि । प्रेयांसो मे यतो यूयं क्षेत्रसंन्यासकारिणः

Transliteration

dātavyo vo varaḥ kotra vriyatāṃ me yathāruci | preyāṃso me yato yūyaṃ kṣetrasaṃnyāsakāriṇaḥ

Translation

Quel bienfait dois-Je vous accorder ici ? Choisissez selon votre désir. Car vous m’êtes chers, puisque vous avez entrepris le renoncement en ce champ sacré.

Word by Word

• dātavyaḥ: to be given
• dātavyaḥ: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa/Predicate adjective
• Type: Adjective
• Root: √dā (धातु) + तव्यत् (कृदन्त)
• Form: तव्यत्-प्रत्ययान्त (gerundive), पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; विधेय-विशेषण (to be given)

• vaḥ: to you
• vaḥ: Sampradāna (Recipient/सम्प्रदान)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yuṣmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी/चतुर्थी-बहुवचन (Genitive/Dative plural) — here दत्त-सम्प्रदानार्थे (dative sense)

• varaḥ: a boon
• varaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: vara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• kaḥ: which?/what?
• kaḥ: Karta (Interrogative subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kim (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन; प्रश्नवाचक

• utra: here
• utra: Deśa (Adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: utra (अव्यय)
• Form: देशवाचक-अव्यय (locative adverb) ‘here/there’

• vriyatām: let (it) be chosen
• vriyatām: Kriyā (Predicate/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √vṛ (धातु)
• Form: लोट्-लकार (Imperative), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन; आत्मनेपद; कर्मणि/भावे प्रयोगः ‘let it be chosen’

• me: by me / of me
• me: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी/चतुर्थी-एकवचन (Genitive/Dative singular) — here ‘by me/for me’ contextual

• yathā-ruci: according to (your) wish
• yathā-ruci: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (Adverbial modifier)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय) + ruci (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: अव्ययीभाव-समास (यथारुचि), क्रियाविशेषण

• preyāṃsaḥ: dearer
• preyāṃsaḥ: Viśeṣaṇa (Qualifier)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: preyas (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन; तुलनात्मक (comparative)

• me: to me / of me
• me: Sambandha (Genitive relation)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: षष्ठी-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• yataḥ: because
• yataḥ: Hetu (Cause/हेतु)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yataḥ (अव्यय)
• Form: हेतुवाचक-अव्यय (causal relative adverb) ‘because/since’

• yūyam: you (all)
• yūyam: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yuṣmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: मध्यमपुरुष-सर्वनाम, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• kṣetrasaṃnyāsakāriṇaḥ: performers of renunciation of the sacred field (Kāśī)
• kṣetrasaṃnyāsakāriṇaḥ: Karta (Predicate nominal/सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṣetra-saṃnyāsa-kārin (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: तत्पुरुष-समास (क्षेत्रस्य संन्यासं करोति), पुल्लिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

Speaker

Śiva (as Maheśāna)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Kāśī (Avimukta-kṣetra)

Type: kshetra

Skanda Dialogue

Listener: null

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Śiva addresses a gathered group of austere brāhmaṇas in Kāśī, offering a boon with an open palm; the brāhmaṇas wear simple cloth, carry kamaṇḍalu, and stand within a sanctified cityscape.

Characters & Entities

• Kāśī (as kṣetra)
• Saṃnyāsa (kṣetrasaṃnyāsa)
• Śiva (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Renunciation embraced within the sacred field of Kāśī is especially प्रिय (dear) to Śiva and draws divine grace and boons.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Kāśī, implied as the ‘kṣetra’ where kṣetra-saṃnyāsa is undertaken.

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

The verse highlights kṣetra-saṃnyāsa (renunciant commitment in the holy field) rather than a specific ritual act.